Developer Andrea "Mr. DVG" Pastore has released IL MARINAIO, a new game for the Amstrad CPC 128k. The game was built from scratch in Z80 assembly language, with some assistance from AI tools, and draws its inspiration from the 1982 arcade title Popeye. Players take on the role of a lovesick sailor character in a game that aims to capture the feel of the original arcade classic. via indieretronews.com
Hidden Palace has published a Halloween-themed release detailing a cache of material recovered from the floppy disks of former Sega Technical Institute programmer Ken Rose. The collection spans six STI projects, most never seen before, including prototypes and source code for a game called Segapede, one called Jester, and an unreleased title starring Sonic the Hedgehog's sidekick Tails. The release was put together by Hidden Palace members Ashley, Travis and Kat along with new contributor vladikcomper, working directly with Rose to preserve the material. Rose began programming on a PDP-8 before studying computer science at UC Berkeley and contracting for companies including Synapse Software prior to joining Sega. via hiddenpalace.org
Games That Weren't has published research into Comic Relief Adventure, a text adventure tied to the 1991 Comic Relief charity event. The piece explains that at the time Comic Relief ran biannually, and that Britain had a thriving home-made adventure scene, with hobbyists using tools such as The Quill, PAWS and Graphic Adventure Creator to build interactive fiction sold by mail order. Magazines and fanzines of the period, including Adventure Probe, regularly covered this independent adventure-making community. via gamesthatwerent.com
A new 3D racing game called Downtown Dash has launched for the Atari Jaguar. Developed by Dr Ludos in six months for the JagJam 2026 event, it blends the open-world setting and camera style of Grand Theft Auto with the timed arcade driving of Crazy Taxi. The game is described as made "100% without AI", built the traditional way with help, tools and assets from members of the Atari Jaguar community. via timeextension.com
A hobbyist project designing a new computer in the style of a theoretical Amiga 5000 has reached its 46th design revision. The system is being developed to work with current, roughly 2026-era technology rather than simply replicating older hardware. It follows the long running interest among Amiga enthusiasts in imagining how Commodore's line might have evolved had it continued. via reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro
Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars, a fan-made Mario game for PC by developer Starshi, has revealed more about its upcoming second chapter. The new chapter is described as standalone and takes a spooky direction, featuring haunted stages and a new ghostly companion character. It follows earlier teasers that set the second chapter for 2026 and previously introduced a character called Ralle. via console-classics.com
A fan-made ROM hack titled Pokemon Orange: Citrus Version has been released and shared on the r/PokemonROMhacks community. It joins the long-running tradition of community-made Pokemon ROM hacks that modify existing Game Boy and Game Boy Advance era titles with new content, features or challenge modes. via reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks
Former Sega of America developer Ken Rose, who worked at the Sega Technical Institute during the Mega Drive era, has shared floppy discs of material from unreleased 1990s projects via gaming history site The Hidden Palace. The cache includes screenshots, source code and design documents for cancelled games such as Segapede, Jester, and an undeveloped title starring Sonic the Hedgehog's companion Tails. The material came out of a feature interview in which Rose discussed his time working within Sega's STI team during the Genesis/Mega Drive's heyday. via timeextension.com
A developer from Diode Software has written about rediscovering an old, incomplete attempt at porting Parsec to the ZX Spectrum. Parsec was a side-scrolling shooter with speech for the TI-99/4A, and the developer recalls trying to recreate it in machine code after being inspired by its gameplay, visuals and sound. The attempt stalled due to limited time, memory and skill, leaving only a scroll routine, some ship movement code and graphics believed to have been copied from the original. The developer notes the game was rarely ported elsewhere at the time, aside from a later Coleco version. via andthemurder.com
AYANEO has introduced the Ice Pink Handheld, a new colour edition of its compact Android gaming device. The variant uses a translucent shell that exposes the internal hardware, giving it a decorative look alongside its usual controls. It is positioned as a display-friendly take on AYANEO's existing handheld line rather than a new model with different internals. via console-classics.com
A fan-made ROM hack titled Pokemon Enhanced HeartGold has been released on r/PokemonROMhacks. The project is based on Pokemon HeartGold, Nintendo's 2009 remake of Pokemon Gold for the Nintendo DS, which itself revisited the Johto region from the Game Boy Color originals. Enhanced HeartGold is part of the long-running tradition of community hacks that modify existing Pokemon games with new features and balance changes. via reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks
A fan translation for Like a Dragon: Kenzan!, the 2008 PS3 exclusive spin-off of the Yakuza series, has been completed without the use of AI tools. The patch comes from the same team that produced last year's translation of the related title Ishin!, and lets English speakers experience the jidaigeki-themed game for the first time, 18 years after its Japan-only release. Yakuza producers Masayoshi Yokoyama and Hiroyuki Sakamoto have reportedly indicated there are no plans to remake Kenzan! for modern platforms, unlike Ishin!. via timeextension.com
